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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28046901">The True Meaning of Family</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnAnonymousWriter/pseuds/AnAnonymousWriter'>AnAnonymousWriter</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supernatural</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>2020 is wild and I'm in my feels, Alternate Universe, Another Winchester child, British, Fluff, Found Family, Gen, Original Character - Freeform, Supernatural - Freeform, Winchesters in England</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 14:26:50</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>18,317</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28046901</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnAnonymousWriter/pseuds/AnAnonymousWriter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A found family Supernatural AU. Ophelia Humphries is an English 19-year-old who is just trying to finish her online history degree when she receives a letter from two brothers she never knew she had.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Winchester Family (Supernatural) &amp; Original Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A street light switched on casting an orange glow over the young woman at the library table.</p><p>Her typing slowed as she came to the end of her paragraph. She looked up at the clock hanging on the far wall. Half past six. Her European history teacher had given them an assignment to write a blog about any historical subject.</p><p>"You must keep a healthy and vibrant blog, updated twice, no, three times a week. Now this will be 60 percent of your final grade, so make it good people." said Mr. Sutton.</p><p>Those words rang in her ears, history was her passion and while she couldn't get the grades to go to a physical university she loved her course and she wanted to get this project perfect. Ophelia pressed the publish button on her article about the laws around witchcraft in Britain. Taking one more glance at the clock, she closed the lid of her laptop and slipped it into her dark green tote bag.</p><p>The heavy wooden chair made a scraping sound as she stood up, cutting the silence. A girl sat a few tables from Ophelia looked up at her, the noise distracting her from her colourful notes. They held eye-contact briefly as Ophelia walked passed the girl's table heading towards the book drop off point.</p><p>"Did you find everything you were looking for my dear?" the old librarian asked slowly. His name tag said Bernie Harrington and he was dressed in a pair of brown trousers that showed the signs of repair, a cream shirt and dark blue knitted jumper. His white hair was bright against his dark skin and made him look much older than his face did.</p><p>Ophelia smiled at the kind eyed man. "I did. Thank you so much for your help Mr Harrington, this book was just what I needed."</p><p>"I'm sorry you can't take the book out, it's just too old to trust to most of the public, I hope you understand dear."</p><p>"Of course I do, Mr Harrington, I'd be upset if anything happened to it." Ophelia said in a whisper as she delicately placed the leather bound book onto the cart next to Bernie.</p><p>The book was called <em>The Persecution of Witches</em> and was well over 100 years old. Its pages had the smell of dust, time and smoke from when people could smoke in libraries in time gone by.</p><p>"I assume you know this book is said to be cursed dear? The legend goes that those who stare at its pages are persecuted by the supernatural" Bernie added, his eyes glimmering with humour.</p><p>The short girl let out a snort that startled her and replied "Mr Harrington, you don't believe that do you?"</p><p>"We should all be aware of the supernatural my dear, no matter how improbable it sounds." With that Bernie picked up a stack of books from the desk next to them and placed them on the cart, pushing it towards the shelves. "Have a good night Miss."</p><p>Stepping onto the pavement the autumn air caught Ophelia by surprise. The wind stang against her pale skin, turning her cheeks red almost instantly, and flung her curly black hair from where it usually hung around her chin. She brought the collar of her heavy winter coat up to try and shield her face from the harsh weather. She took a deep breath of freezing air before heading towards her car.</p><p>Reaching into the back pocket of her mom jeans she grabbed her keys. The metal was cold against her fingers as she unlocked her 1970s black ford mustang. Climbing into the front seat immediately felt like a hug.</p><p>The car had once belonged to her grandad, the man who was the only father figure Ophelia had in her life, if you didn't count the gaggle of men her mum brought into her life as potential step-father, Ophelia didn't count them.</p><p>Memories of her grandad William and the time they spent together were littered all over the car. Most notably was the photo of William holding a baby Ophelia while he lent against the car. Ophelia picked the photo off the dashboard and turned it over. Written in her grandad's handwriting it said<em> the start of an adventure.</em></p><p>Her grandad passed away 6 months ago and each day it was hard to be without her best friend.</p><p>Closing her eyes for the briefest of moments, Ophelia could have sworn she could smell him. The smell of apple pulp from his homemade cider and leather from his jacket filled the car, comforting her despite knowing it was all in her mind.</p><p>Her phone interrupted her reminiscing. She had a single notification from her mum.</p><p>
  <em>Sweetheart, can you come home at some point soon, we need to chat about something that has come up.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Love mum x</em>
</p><p>Ophelia hadn't been home in a few months, after her grandad died her mum's boyfriend Brad began to be too much for Ophelia to handle. It started off with him making fun of little things that she would do like wearing statement shirts or wearing fun makeup. It then became bullying and when she stood up for herself, her mum made the decision to stick with Brad over Ophelia.</p><p>Ophelia had bounced between friends from school, sleeping in her car and staying in cheap hotels and bed and breakfasts with the little money her mum gave her each week. She hates using that money, her mum only gives her it because she feels guilty about asking her to leave.</p><p>Sighing, Ophelia knew if she didn't respond that she would get a less than friendly message from Brad.</p><p>Ophelia hit the reply button and began to type.</p><p>
  <em>Mum - Just got out of the library, I can come over now if that works for you.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ophelia x</em>
</p><p>Seconds later her phone beeped again.</p><p>
  <em>That would be great love, Brad is just getting ready to meet up with some friends from work so we will have the house to ourselves.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Love mum xx</em>
</p><p>Two kisses this time. Something was off. Her mum rarely sent kisses on the end of messages and when she did it was only ever one, and, come to think of it, her mum never called her a pet name.</p><p>The car's engine spluttered into life as she turned the key, glancing at the time. Quarter to seven, she should be at her mum's by quarter past seven. Putting the car into gear, Ophelia headed toward her mum's home.</p><p>Ophelia pulled up to her mum's country home. It was a dark and sinister looking building but it held many happy memories for her. Memories of family Christmases with her mum and grandad, and birthdays and new years celebrations.</p><p>Locking her car behind her, she started the walk up the sandstone slabbed path. The garden's grass was artificial looking and the flowers were placed precisely and symmetrically.</p><p>Ophelia hesitated at the perfectly painted grey door before giving three firm knocks. Her stomach was in knots waiting for someone to open it. Footsteps could be heard on the other side and so could voices. She knocked again and fidgeted while looking at her feet.</p><p>The door swung open, startling her. Brad stood in the doorway, filling it almost completely. He was tall and proud looking, Ophelia's mum said that's what first attracted her to him. Ophelia always thought he looked arrogant. He was dressed in a suit that probably cost more than a small car.</p><p>Brad came from a wealthy background and had never had to work a day in his life, a couple of years before he moved in he inherited his dad's fortune. Ophelia's mum was working in the bar when he stumbled, already drunk, through the door.</p><p>"She's here" Brad yelled into the other room, his crooked smile set Ophelia on edge, his breathing set her on edge, everything about him set her on edge.</p><p>"Brad." Was all Ophelia could say. Her voice was nowhere near as strong as she wanted it to be. He could tell this.</p><p>"Well come on in Ophelia, it's good to see you, how have you been keeping?" His hand gripped her shoulder as he ushered her into the front room. She tried to wriggle free but his grip was too tight.</p><p>"Fine Brad, just fine." She said through gritted teeth.</p><p>The front room where Brad had ushered her to was not what Ophelia had expected. Before she left the room was decorated in warm colours. Reds, browns and oranges filled the space once upon a time, but now, now it is just white. Obviously Brads doing.</p><p>There were pictures of Brad and Sandra, Ophelia's mum, where pictures of Ophelia used to be and candles were tacky ornaments her grandad bought them from his various travels.</p><p>In the middle of the room was a small coffee table, on that table was a box of tissues and a tea set. That tea set. That tea set of blue and white only came out when major talks were to be had. This tea set of blue and white had chips and cracks all over it where people had thrown it at walls and even each other. Ophelia smirked to herself when her eyes glanced at the sugar bowl that had a nasty chip taken out of it where she had thrown it at Brad and missed. It hit the wall behind him.</p><p>Ophelia's mother, Sandra, sat in the middle of the room next to the table pouring a cup of tea for herself, then, one for Ophelia. Sandra was slimmer than Ophelia remembered, her bones looked sharp and dangerous but overall Sandra looked too frail to hurt a fly. Her dyed blond hair was slicked back into a low bun that only emphasised the inch or so of natural black root.</p><p>Ophelia lowered herself slowly into the chair opposite her mum.</p><p>"Darling, it's lovely to see you." Sandra said with a smile. She tried to look happy but her face was blotchy and red from where she had obviously been crying. "You look well, I love this shirt you're wearing."</p><p>This was a lie, Ophelia wore loud printed shirts that she mainly borrowed from her grandad, since his passing she had to find new ones at charity and second hand shops. Sandra hated how Ophelia dressed. The one she was currently wearing was pale pink with an 80s geometric pattern in light blues, greens and yellows.</p><p>"What's going on mum? What do we need to chat about?" Ophelia asked softly, cautious of how fragile her mother looked.</p><p>"It's about your dad sweetie." Sandra hesitated.</p><p>"What about him? Has he come back?"</p><p>"No, 'pheila, he isn't back. You see, you got a letter and I know I shouldn't have opened it but it had an overseas post mark." Sandra reached to the table, moved some magazines and passed Ophelia a letter.</p><p>"What's this mum?" Ophelia was confused. She never got post, let alone post from overseas.</p><p>"Your dad is dead." Brad interrupted the silence.</p><p>The room fell silent again.</p><p>"What do you mean he's dead?" Ophelia said slowly, trying to come to terms with the information. She didn't even know the man yet she began to softly cry.</p><p>"Exactly that, he's been dead almost 15 years now." Brad continued with no sound of remorse or sorrow in his voice.</p><p>That was most of her life. At 19 years-old Ophelia had only spent a few months with her father John Winchester when she was a baby before he had to go back to America. Her mum says it was a summer fling that evolved into something more when she found out she was pregnant. He stayed for the entire pregnancy and roughly half of her first year before leaving. They never heard from him again.</p><p>"Love, you read the letter." Sandra's cold hand reached for Ophelia's knee in reassurance.</p><p>Her hands shaking, Ophelia removed the letter from the envelope and began to read.</p><p> </p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Two</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Dear Ophelia,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>As you may or may not know, your dad is John Winchester. It may come as a surprise to you that he is also our dad, that makes us your half-brothers.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Our dad wasn't perfect, but at heart he was a good man and I hope you know that. From the way he wrote about you and your mom it is clear that he loved you both.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Unfortunately he passed away almost fifteen years ago now. While we were sorting through his belongings we found diaries he kept from the time he spent with your mom and you. That's how we found you. I pray that the address he had for your mom Sandra is still the same. My brother Dean and I felt that you needed to know you are not on your own. You have a family you can always call on.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Dad wrote about how much he regretted leaving your mom alone to raise you, his only daughter. He said how much he regretted leaving your mom, the only woman he really loved since our mom died.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>You must be at least nineteen, so you are old enough to know we are out there, that no matter how much you feel like you are alone through your teenage years, you have family that you can call on.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>We hope to hear from you soon</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Sam and Dean Winchester.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>P.s. Contact me, Sam, via email. We move around a lot. Sam.Winchester@gmail.com</em>
</p><p>Ophelia and her mum sat there in silence for what seemed to be forever. She had brothers. She knew it was a possibility with her dad being American, it was more than likely that he had another family but she just never thought they would contact her.</p><p>"Did you know mum..." Ophelia whispered.</p><p>"Not that he had sons, but I knew he was married before and that she died in a fire." she replied.</p><p>"What do I do now?"</p><p>"That's up to you my love, they seem to want to have some sort of relationship with you, I think you should at least email Sam. That way they know you have got the letter."</p><p>Sandra looked at her daughter, studying her every expression. Closing the gap between them, Sandra put her arms around her child who was grieving for a man she never knew.</p><p>"I loved him, I loved him enough to have you and I am so thankful that I have you in my life. I am thankful to him that he gave me you." Sandra said with a slight quiver in her voice.</p><p>Both women were softly crying, comforting each other in the hug. Ophelia was the one to pull away first.</p><p>"Mum, can I stay the night? It'll just be for one night. I just don't think I can drive like this." Ophelia pleaded. She needed a familiar environment to try and comprehend the emotions she was feeling.</p><p>"Just the one night sweetheart. I'm sure Brad would understand you staying the night but I think it would be best if you left before he got up for work. You know what he's like."</p><p>Ophelia nodded, this was a baby step and while those words stung it was still progress.</p><p>"Why don't you go upstairs, love. I'll bring up some tea and something to eat. There is some leftover chilli I made. Brad doesn't like it but I know it's your favorite so I made it." Ophelia nodded at her mum's suggestion.</p><p>She knew that Brad would have thrown some harsh words towards Sandra for making something he didn't like. "Thank you mum. That means a lot to me." They shared a knowing look, they both knew that this thank you was for more than just for the food.</p><p>Making her way to her childhood bedroom, Ophelia started to process everything that she had just been told.</p><p>She always wanted siblings, some of her mum's previous boyfriends had children but they didn't feel like family. They were just people her age that she saw from time to time.</p><p>These boys, Sam and Dean, were family. She had so many questions for them. Who's older? Why did their dad come over to England all those years ago? Why do they move around a lot? She didn't even know what they looked like, did she look like them at all?</p><p>Opening her bedroom door it felt different. This was her room, her stuff, but not her personality. All her pictures had been taken down and were leaning against the walls. Her bed had been moved from under one of the windows, where Ophelia had moved it when she was fifteen, to the opposite wall. Paint swatches of various shades of cream covered part of her deep orange feature wall.</p><p>She headed to her wardrobe and pulled open the door. The clothes she left behind, mainly stuff that didn't fit her style now and some extra shirts she borrowed from her grandad, were folded and put in a box at the back of the wardrobe. Brad's suits hang where they once had been.</p><p>In a box next to the clothes was trinkets and decorations that usually sat on her desk. An old-fashioned alarm clock that her mum gave her a few years ago, a fake plastic cactus, fairy lights in the shape of ghosts that she picked up as halloween decorations last year but loved so much that she kept hung over her mirror.</p><p>They were removing her from this room. Ophelia had expected things to change but not this quickly.</p><p>Closing the wardrobe, she sat at her desk that now faced a wall and not the second window. It had a new coat of dark wood stain. This made the marks more prominent. Ophelia ran her fingers over the initials of her first crush that she had placed in a heart. James Powers. She smiled to herself as she reached into her bag and pulled out her laptop.</p><p>Ignoring the emails from classmates and brands, Ophelia began to compose a new email.</p><p>She copied in Sam's email address carefully, making sure it was right.</p><p>It took her four or five attempts to get the email right. The first drafts felt either too formal, angry or just not right.</p><p>
  <em>Sam and Dean,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Processing everything you told me in your letter has been hard. Dad left when I was young and so I never knew him. I had always hoped he would come back and visit at some point and I'm heartbroken to hear he has passed.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>From the way mum talked about him this evening I know that she loved him dearly. This has hit us both so hard.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I'm currently nineteen and studying for a degree in history. I want to know more about you both. Maybe at some point you could make the trip over to see me. I'm sure you have so many questions for me, I have many for you.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I'm happy you got in touch - Please reply soon.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ophelia Humphries x</em>
</p><p>Sandra pushed open the door to the bedroom, carrying a tray which had a bowl of chilli and a mug of tea on it. She placed it on the end of Ophelia's bed and perched herself next to it.</p><p>"Darling, you need to come eat, it's been a long day."</p><p>Not saying anything, Ophelia closed her laptop and moved to the bed sitting on the other side of the tray. She picked up the bowl and the fork taking the first mouthful it burned her tongue. She never learned.</p><p>After the pain subsided a little Ophelia broke the silence. "I see you're decorating." There was a pause before she continued. "I like the third shade of cream. I think it'll cover the orange better than the rest." It was hard to hide the pain that was growing in her voice.</p><p>"Yeah, I like that one too. I think the warmth is nicer than the one Brad has chosen."</p><p>"Hmm, let me guess. He has chosen the first one." Ophelia said shoveling more hot chilli into her mouth. It had a more blue undertone and looked cold.</p><p>"Phelia, darling, I'm so sorry about everything that has happened. I miss you."</p><p>"I miss you too mum, but this is good for us. I need more independence. If you ever need me, I'm just a text away. Thank you for all the money you've been putting in my account. I know you do it because you feel guilty but it really does help."</p><p>"I love him 'Phelia."</p><p>"I know mum." Ophelia reached out and held her mum's hand. "I know you do but you know why I'm worried about it don't you."</p><p>Sandra nodded. Ophelia went back to her chilli pushing the beans and vegetables around.</p><p>"Well sweetheart, I'll let you finish your dinner and get some rest." Sandra stood up and headed for the door. " I love you."</p><p>"I know mum, I love you too."</p><p>A few hours passed before Ophelia got a reply.</p><p>
  <em>Ophelia,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It's so nice to hear from you. Dean and I have been waiting for a few weeks hoping that you will get the letter and email us.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I'm glad we didn't scare you off.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>We would love to meet you, and it would be much easier to come to you seeing as you're doing a degree, I know how hard that can be.</em>
</p><p>'Sam's done a degree?' Ophelia thought to herself. The first thing they have in common other than a parent. 'I wonder if Dean has one too.'</p><p>The email continued.</p><p>
  <em>We have a few questions but we have our dad's diaries that put us at an advantage.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>We will look at when we're free and hopefully we will be able to pop over and spend a little time with you.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It's nice to hear from you.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Sam and Dean x</em>
</p><p>
  <em>P.S Dean says you're a Winchester - If you'd like to call yourself one then we'd like that but that's up to you.</em>
</p><p>A Winchester. They're not wrong, she was a Winchester but she had always gone by her mum's maiden name. It had crossed her mind about using her dad's last name a few years ago but she didn't see the point as it was just her and her mum. Now she is a part of a family, should she use her family name? That would take some thinking about.</p><p>Thinking about her family, Ophelia got into bed and thought about all the things that could happen when they meet.</p><p>The next morning Ophelia woke up before anyone else. She jotted down a note for her mum telling her that she had left and that she would be in touch.</p><p>It was hard leaving her mum. For so many years it was always Sandra, grandad William and Ophelia and now Ophelia was on her own. Hopefully not for much longer though.</p><p>Putting on the jeans she was wearing the day before, Ophelia opened her wardrobe again. She fished out a plain white buttoned shirt and deep purple wool jumper that her grandad gave her a few birthdays ago. Pulling it over her head it felt like nothing had changed. She was at home and everything was right with the world.</p><p>This delusion was broken by the sound of the radio reading out sports results being played in the bathroom.</p><p>Brad was the only one who cared enough about sport to listen to them. A pang of panic shot through Ophelia. It was time for her to leave.</p><p>She placed the note on the tray her mum had left with her last night. Looking around the room one last time Ophelia frowned. She didn't know when the next time she would be back and by then who knew what this room could look like.</p><p>Picking up her tote bag Ophelia headed downstairs, out the front door and towards her car.</p><p>Over the next few days she emailed Sam and Dean a few times as they figured out when they would come over. They told her that they were currently living in Kansas but they travelled a lot for work. She also found out that Dean was the oldest brother at forty-one years old and Sam was almost thirty-seven.</p><p>Ophelia got the impression that Dean was really excited to have a baby sister. In one email Sam told her that Dean loved being an older brother and took his responsibilities as the oldest very seriously.</p><p>They agreed that the boys would visit in the next few weeks. Ophelia thought it was lucky that they could find plane tickets at such short notice.</p><p>Strangely, they didn't want to be picked up from the airport but insisted that they had a ride. Ophelia thought that might be best as it could be awkward sitting in the same car with two people she just met.</p><p>They were going to meet her at a hotel nearby. They each booked a room for a couple of weeks.</p><p>The day before their arrival had come. Ophelia woke up in the back seat of her car. She ran her hand through her hair to try and brush the knots out of it. It felt greasy to the touch. Luckily she could check into the hotel and freshen up.</p><p>After a stretch she climbed into the driver's seat. She glanced at the photo of her and her grandad and smiled. She hopes he would be proud of her.</p><p>The drive to the Prince's Grove Hotel didn't take very long. It was a modest building that had a gothic feel to its architecture. The sandstone was bright compared to the black signage.</p><p>The entrance looked like the entrance of a church. The door arched and was heavy. Walking into the reception she noticed the gothic theme of the outside continued on the inside. Seats in the waiting room were made of black leather, the wood was dark like the front door. Ophelia was impressed that the theme was so consistent. The only downside was that there was a faint smell of eggs and she couldn't figure out where it was coming from.</p><p>A tall and slender man was standing behind the dark receptionist's desk. He was looking out the window as if he was trying to find someone. He had a mop of brown hair that hung around his cheekbones.</p><p>Ophelia walked up to the desk and tried to catch the man's attention.</p><p>"Oh, I'm sorry Miss, how can I help you?" The man asked softly.</p><p>"Hi. I'd like to check in please.The name is Ophelia Humphries." Ophelia said.</p><p>"Okay, just one moment."</p><p>The man's badge says George and had a little smiley sticker at the end of his name.</p><p>George looked up at Ophelia from the computer and smiled. "Okay Miss Humphries your room is number five. It's down the hall and on your left. Just follow the signs." He passed the key card to Ophelia and nodded.</p><p>Ophelia headed back to her car to get her things. Unlocking the boot she struggled to lift out her suitcase onto the pavement. She grabbed the rest of her stuff from the car, locked it and headed towards the room.</p><p>The room looked nothing like the rest of the building. It was modern and bright. The linen was a brilliant white that made the bedside tables next to the bed look dirty in comparison.</p><p>As Ophelia was staying for a little while she began to unpack a bit. She unzipped her bulging suitcase and it sprung open. When she moved out of her mum's she packed only what she needed. Clothes, mostly shirts, jeans and jumpers. Her favourite books as well as some she got for university and that was about it.</p><p>She hung up the colourful patterned shirts, folded the jumpers and trousers into the large draws and threw her underwear into one of the smaller draws.</p><p>At the bottom of the wardrobe she placed her three pairs of shoes. The pair of black converse that she always wears, a pair of Doc Martens Chelsea boots and a pair of black heels that she only took with her to go with one dress.</p><p>She went back to her suitcase and pulled out her green satin knee length dress. She got this dress for prom and never wore it. Ophelia didn't end up going to prom as her date had decided to take someone else and she didn't feel like seeing that. She hung the dress up, closed the wardrobe and put her suitcase under the bed.</p><p>After spending some time doing some work she had been set for university, it had gotten late. Almost ten in the evening. She checked her emails one last time. A new one had arrived from Sam.</p><p>
  <em>Hi Ophelia,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>We'll be getting to the hotel at around twelve o'clock GMT. We're excited to see you.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Sam and Dean x</em>
</p><p>Ophelia had a sudden surge of anxiety shoot through her. It was really happening, She was going to meet her brothers.</p><p>She fired back an email.</p><p>
  <em>Hi to you both,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I'm really excited to meet you! Are you sure you don't want picking up from the airport? I really don't mind as I drive.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Ophelia x</em>
</p><p>Ophelia got off the hotel bed where she had been working and picked a pot noodle out from her suitcase. She boiled the kettle that was in the room and let it cook.</p><p>Her laptop pinged, letting her know she had an email.</p><p>
  <em>Hi Ophelia,</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It's no problem at all, our friend Cas is giving us a ride.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>See you soon.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Sam and Dean x</em>
</p><p>They had never mentioned this Cas person before. Ophelia wondered if this was a friend their dad had made when he was over here.</p><p>She ate her pot noodle and got ready for bed. The shower pressure was less than great but at least she was clean and smelled nice. She put on a pale blue t-shirt and some green shorts that had a watermelon print then got into bed and drifted off to sleep.</p><p>By the time Ophelia woke up it was already eleven in the morning and she was a nervous wreck. She felt sick because of how nervous she was.</p><p>She washed her face and brushed her teeth and hair and picked out an outfit.</p><p>A short sleeve white buttoned shirt that had large koi carp printed onto it, a pair of black mom jeans, her black denim jacket and her Chelsea boots. She did a simple makeup look. A little foundation and powder, an eyeshadow that had a faint orange shimmer to it, a small winged eyeliner and a rose lip tint.</p><p>She took a long look at herself in the mirror. This was what her two brothers were going to see when they saw her for the first time. Did they have the same curly hair and freckles as her? Would they like the way she dressed or would they be expecting something else?</p><p>She pondered these things for a while, just staring at herself in the mirror.</p><p>'Twenty minutes and they'll be here' she thought to herself.</p><p>Those twenty minutes turned into ten which turned into five. At five to twelve Ophelia headed to the reception. She sat in one of the plush leather seats and waited.</p><p>The sound of voices approaching the hotel made Ophelia look up from her phone.</p><p>"Come on Sammy, you know I hate doing that, last time Cas gave me a ride I was backed up for a week." A tall man with a gruff American accent said as he followed behind an even taller man.</p><p>Ophelia's ears perked up. It was a weird conversation but she heard a name that was familiar.</p><p>"Sam? Dean? Is that you?" Ophelia asked with hesitation.</p><p>The men turned towards her with smiles across their faces.</p><p>Sam, the younger of the two, crossed the large reception area to stand in front of Ophelia. "Hi, you must be Ophelia, I'm Sam and this is Dean." Sam said while picking up Ophelia's had to shake it.</p><p>His hands were large and mostly soft but had calluses. The handshake was quick and business-like. Due to his great height, Ophelia couldn't see the details of Sam's face, but she could see his shadowy brown eyes. His brown hair was long, almost shoulder length, reminded her of when she couldn't get a hair appointment last summer. Sam was covered in plaid, he must have been wearing 2 or 3 layers of it and then a jacket over the top of that.</p><p>While this was happening Dean had been sorting out their rooms, he then joined Sam and Ophelia.</p><p>Dean's hands were strong and rough, but they also had a softness to them like Sam's. He didn't just shake with one hand, he enclosed her hand with his, the warmth, the closeness and the sheer calmness reassured her and banished any last doubts that this meeting was a bad idea.</p><p>As Dean was a little shorter than Sam, Ophelia could see the freckles across Dean's nose. She must have inherited hers from their dad. His eyes were an extraordinary green almost like hers. He was dressed in a grey t-shirt and blue jeans and, most noticeably an old worn brown leather jacket. He was also wearing an odd looking gold pendant on a tatty leather rope, Ophelia assumed that it must be very meaningful to him to keep it when it looked as worn as it did.</p><p>Both of them were much more tan than she was, Ophelia put this down to them travelling as much as they say they did as well as living in Kansas.</p><p>"It's nice to meet you Ophelia." Dean said with a crooked but charming smile.</p><p>Dean dropped her hand and the three of them stood there in the reception of the hotel not saying anything.</p><p>It was Ophelia who spoke first. "How was your flight?" she asked hesitantly, she stuttered slightly trying to get the words out to fill the awkwardness.</p><p>"Yeah, it was quicker than we expected." Sam replied. "Look, why don't Dean and I drop our bags off in our room then we can go get some lunch?"</p><p>Ophelia waited in the reception area and watched as her brothers headed to their rooms. The smell of eggs seemed more prominent today but there still seemed to be no source of the smell. It just hung in the air.</p><p>"She's shorter than I expected her to be, her mom must be on the shorter side. It's nice not being the shortest sibling." Dean remarked. "In fact, I'm not entirely sure what I expected. Maybe someone that looked more like us."</p><p>"Dean you're unbelievable. You both look like siblings. I'm the one that doesn't look like a part of this family." Sam chuckled, shaking his head at his brother.</p><p>"You think we look similar? How? I don't see it."</p><p>"The green eyes, the freckles, the cheekbones and your smile. You guys look similar, trust me."</p><p>The boys dumped their stuff in the room and headed back towards Ophelia.</p><p>They watched as Ophelia stood looking out one of the large windows. Dean coughed to clear his throat, drawing her attention away from whatever had caught her eye.</p><p>"Do you guys not want to change? It must have been a really long flight and you must be tired." Ophelia said, her anxiety was noticeable in her voice.</p><p>"It's okay. Don't worry about it. Let's go get some food, do you know anywhere good?" Sam asked the nervous girl that stood before him. Noticing how anxious his new sister looked Dean put his hand on Ophelia's shoulder and said "Now, you said you drive, please tell me you don't have some cramped European car?"</p><p>Ophelia took a deep breath and replied to them. "Yeah that sounds good, I know of a cafe that does some good food. And no Dean, it's not one of those. I think you'll like her."</p><p>She turned towards the door and led them both to the car park.</p><p>Finally relaxing a little bit, Ophilia announced "Welcome to England, the land of tea, the Queen and shitty reality TV. I hope you enjoy your stay." She glanced over her shoulder and gave her brothers a cheeky smile. "Come on guys, I know you're older than me but you can walk quicker than that. We might be able to make it before the cafe stops serving brunch."</p><p>"Brunch? Oh god Sammy, please tell me she isn't taking us to some fancy place." Dean whispered to his brother. Sam just rolled his eyes at Dean and jogged to catch up to Ophelia.</p><p>The Winchester siblings followed Ophelia to a car, she reached her hand into the pocket of her jeans, pulled out the keys and unlocked it.</p><p>"There is no way this is your car Ophelia." Dean said in disbelief "I mean, this is such a hard car to get a hold of, and it's in such good condition!"</p><p>Opening the driver's side door, Ophelia grinned at Dean. "She was my grandad's, he took amazing care of her and taught me to look after her as well."</p><p>"Well we have to meet him, give him a call and see if he wants to come for lunch." Dean's face looked like a child's on Christmas day who was excited about gifts.</p><p>A pain stung in Ophelia's chest, her eyes began to fill with tears. She took a deep breath before saying "I'm sorry, he died a little while ago. He would have loved to have met you both if he was alive I'm sure." Her voice wavered and croaked as she told them.</p><p>"Oh I'm so sorry, we had no idea." Sam said as he bridged the gap between them. He put his arms around her and gave her a hug. "We know what it's like to lose an older male role model."</p><p>Ophelia was surprised at the hug, her body stiffened at first before relaxing into it. Sam smelled like coffee and laundry detergent. Her face was pressed into his chest because of the incredible hight difference but it felt good. It reminded her of the hugs her grandad gave her.</p><p>Sam released her from his grasp and looked her in the eyes. He didn't say anything but she knew exactly what the looks said. 'We will look out for you.'</p><p>He turned his head to look at Dean and said "Shotgun!" Before running around to the passenger's side door. This brought a smile to Ophelia's face.</p><p>Once they were all buckled in and Dean had stopped moaning about being in the back seat, Ophelia started the car and pulled out of the car park.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Three</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The old car pulled into a car park on the outskirts of town. With it being midday on a weekday, the car park was almost empty.</p>
<p>"Okay, this is as close to town I can get, with how big the car is I can't really park on the road. It's not a long walk but I thought you should know." Ophelia said, turning the car off.</p>
<p>"Hey, no worries, it looks like a nice town, we don't mind a little walk now do we Sammy." Dean replied.</p>
<p>Sam looked at Ophelia, he smiled and nodded.</p>
<p>She locked the car and said "Okay guys, this way" as she started heading up the cobblestone street. The boys follow behind her, taking in all the history of the town.</p>
<p>The sandstone buildings were tall and crooked, in the midday sun the streets were bright and charming. Dean grumbles as he stumbles over the uneven cobbles.</p>
<p>"I just don't understand what is wrong with a smooth side walk." he mumbled under her under his breath. Ophelia still heard him.</p>
<p>"Dean, this village was built in the fourteenth century. Way before modern America was even discovered. Plus, they're traditional!" Ophelia said with a smile. "Come on, you can't tell me this isn't cute."</p>
<p>"It is pretty, but i'm kind of concerned about how low the ceilings look." Sam interjected, looking genuinely sceptical.</p>
<p>"Yeah, I'd duck if I was you..." the girl trailed off.</p>
<p>Ophelia took them around the town pointing out places of importance to her.</p>
<p>"And that's where they put the Christmas tree every year. Last year some guy got so drunk on Christmas Eve that he tried to climb it" Ophelia said giggling. "He got about half way up when the police turned up to get him down."</p>
<p>They walked a little further, passed the bench where Ophelia had her first kiss and the school where she got her GCSEs and A levels, towards an old building that was covered in flowers and vines.</p>
<p>The seating area outside the front door was surrounded by potted plants and hanging baskets full of foliage that loves the colder climates.</p>
<p>The coffee shop was called The Crescent Moon and it had an astronomy theme throughout it.</p>
<p>Pushing the door open, Ophelia beckoned the boys to follow her. Both of them had to duck when entering the building but once inside the ceiling was higher than they expected.</p>
<p>Ophelia moved towards a booth at the back of the coffee shop and put down the small bag she was carrying. "So," she began "What do you guys want to drink? I imagine coffee right?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, just a black coffee for me." Dean said as he slid into the booth.</p>
<p>"Actually, can I have tea?" Sam said "When in Rome and all that."</p>
<p>"Yeah, of course. Do you want a specific tea or do you want me to pick one of my favourites?" Ophilia said with a smile. She loved tea, it was her comfort drink.</p>
<p>"I'll have one of your favourites." Sam replied. "Oh, could we also get some food? We haven't eaten in ages, I'll pay."</p>
<p>"Don't be daft, I've got this. How about a full English as they're still running their brunch menu?"</p>
<p>The two men looked at each other and nodded, Ophelia smiled at them and headed towards the counter.</p>
<p>"How much are we going to tell her?" Sam asked his brother, while peering around the booth to look at their sister at the counter.</p>
<p>"Well, I don't think we should start with 'Hey, we fight monsters and almost die on the regular - in fact we both have died on a number of occasions' Somehow I don't think that's a good idea." Dean replied.</p>
<p>Sam just rolled his eyes and suggested "Well why don't we use this opportunity to ease her into the idea of what we do. If she doesn't believe us or whatever we just get Cas to pop in."</p>
<p>"Oh what a great idea Sammy, let's just shove a full on angel onto a girl who might not believe us, way to give the poor kid a heart attack." Dean sarcastically replied.</p>
<p>"Why don't you take the lead then if you've got all the answers?" Sam said in a tone that suggested a lack of patients with his brother.</p>
<p>"What are you two bickering about?" Ophelia asked with a lighthearted tone.</p>
<p>"Oh, nothing important" Sam said "Why don't you tell us more about yourself, you say you're doing history at university, is there a campus around here?"</p>
<p>"No, I do classes online. No in person university would take me with my grades so all my classes are online. I really like it though, it was good when I was living at home, it's a little harder now."Ophelia replied.</p>
<p>"Why's that?" Dean asked with a cautious tone.</p>
<p>"I'm no longer living at home. I'm okay, you guys don't have to worry but I bounce around from hotels to sleeping in my car to a friend's sofa every now and again." Ophelia's voice trailed off towards the end. She had never really said out loud her situation and it sounded really quite bad.</p>
<p>"Do you want to talk about that? Dean continued his careful questioning.</p>
<p>"Not at the moment, it's a difficult thing to talk about."</p>
<p>The boys nodded, not pushing it any further.</p>
<p>A young girl brought the drinks to the table, she was only about fifteen or sixteen. Her face was round and chubby and she had a smattering of acne on the right side of her jaw. She placed the teapot, milk jug and empty cups in the middle of the table and the heavy looking mug of coffee more towards Dean.</p>
<p>Ophelia nodded a thank you to the girl before she left, then began to set up the tea for Sam and herself. Dean took a gulp of his coffee, looked pleasantly surprised and carried on drinking.</p>
<p>"This is one of my favourites Sam, it's called English Rose. I hope you enjoy it. It's a black tea so you should have it with a little bit of milk." Ophelia pushed the now full cup towards Sam. He poured a little milk into it, stured it and took his first sip.</p>
<p>"Oh, that's actually really good, I didn't think I'd like it as much as I do." Sam said with a smile on his face. The cup looked comically small in his hands.</p>
<p>The three of them sat making small talk while waiting for their food to arrive. Ophelia found out that Sam didn't graduate from Stanford but he could relate to how hard starting a degree was. Dean never went to university, stating that he wasn't very academic.</p>
<p>The young waitress carried the three plates of food over to their booth. Two full English breakfasts for Sam and Dean that included sausages, eggs, bacon, black pudding, beans, hash browns and fried toast. The third plate was a small stack of pancakes that had whipped cream and a berry sauce.</p>
<p>Sam took smaller bites of the food than his brother Dean who practically inhaled the meal. Ophelia watched their mannerisms, trying to notice if they shared any. She realised that although she looked like Dean more, she shared more things in common with Sam. They made the same face when Dean would say something questionable and they both would try and make themselves smaller when something was embarrassing. This was much harder for Sam to do than Ophelia.</p>
<p>"So, you guys travel around a lot for work? What do you do?" Ophelia asked between mouthfuls of food.</p>
<p>"Well, it's a little hard to explain." Dean started.</p>
<p>"I'm a big girl Dean, I'm sure my big girl brain can handle it." Ophelia replied with a cheeky tone.</p>
<p>Dean's face was sturn, this confused Ophelia. She was unsure what could be so serious about their job.</p>
<p>"Okay, well did your mom ever tell you ghost stories when you were little?" Dean continued "We hunt those ghost stories, the vampires, the witches, the angels and demons; they are all real and we kill them to prevent them from killing innocent people."</p>
<p>Ophelia stared at them both. This had to be a joke, they didn't really think that she would believe this did they?</p>
<p>"What do you mean?" she asked slowly.</p>
<p>It was Sam that spoke next. "We mean that we travel around America and save peoples lives. We've been doing it since our mom died. Dad got us into it. That's why he was over here, he was looking for an artifact that could save a lot of people. That's when he met your mom and had you. Eventually he had to come home though."</p>
<p>Ophelia took a sip of her tea. It had gone cold by this point but she just needed to do something with her hands.</p>
<p>"Right." Ophelia said after a little pause, placing her cup back down onto the table. "I'm not sure how I feel right now. On the one hand I don't believe you. On the other I do because why would you lie to me about something like that." As she said this the boys looked a little relieved.</p>
<p>"Well, that's a good start. At least you didn't run out of here hoping to never see us again." Dean replied with a smile.</p>
<p>"I hate to be 'that guy' but could I have some proof?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, sure, we can't do it here though. There are too many people." Sam replied to his sister's request.</p>
<p>"Okay, great, well I'm done how about you both?" Ophelia paused looking for some response to her signal to leave.</p>
<p>Sam and Dean glanced at each other and stood up to leave, they followed Ophelia out towards the car.</p>
<p>"Okay, so you guys murder things that look like humans then?" She asked in a hushed voice.</p>
<p>"Sometimes, yeah, but the thing you have to remember is that they're not human and that they kill innocent men, women and children." Dean answered.</p>
<p>"Is it hard to do? Like, because some are so human like you can't kill them?" Ophelia questioned.</p>
<p>"Well, like anything there are exceptions. There was this girl, Kate, she was a werewolf. We let her live because she promised us not to hurt anyone. We've not run into her since so hopefully she's kept that promise. Either that or another hunter has killed her..." Dean trailed off on that last sentence realising that something bad could have happened to Kate.</p>
<p>The rest of the journey back to the car was in silence. Ophelia didn't quite know what to make of it all. She wanted to believe them but it was just a lot to take in all at once.</p>
<p>She never knew what her dad did for work or why he was in England. She had always imagined either construction or something like that due to how worn his clothes looked in the photos Sandra had.</p>
<p>They arrived at the car and headed back to the hotel in almost silence. Ophelia just kept thinking about the danger her family willingly puts themselves in to save others. Yet a part of her couldn't get her head around the realisation that everything that went bump in the night was real. How were they going to prove this to her?</p>
<p>"We know, this is a lot to take in Ophelia but we thought you needed to know the truth. We had hoped that your Grandad had told you." Dean said, his voice was calm, steady and quiet.</p>
<p>This startled Ophelia, she glanced at Dean in the front seat and pulled into a layby on the side of the road. She put her car's hazard lights on and put the car into park.</p>
<p>"What the actual fuck did you say?" Ophelia said. She knew exactly what he had said but the pain had stopped her from computing the information.</p>
<p>"Dean, man don't you think that we should have told her this when she wasn't driving?" Sam sheepishly asked from the back seat.</p>
<p>"Yeah, I'm going to have to agree with Sam on this one. What the actual hell! You mean my grandad knew? How on god's green Earth do you know that?" Ophelia spat angrily. She was gripping the steering wheel, she couldn't bring herself to look at Dean.</p>
<p>"Ah yeah, um you see, dad wrote about it in his diary. Dad said that your grandad was asking lots of questions and it was just easier to tell the truth. Jesus, I didn't think you'd react like that. I'm sorry Ophelia." Dean stated.</p>
<p>"Right, well one thing you guys need to realise pretty sharpish is that I'm pretty open with my emotions. I'll tell you when something has hurt me. You telling me that my grandad neglected to mention a key part of my dad's life is going to hurt me." She glanced in the rearview mirror and made eye contact with Sam.</p>
<p>Sam noticed a small tear begin to fall down Ophelia's right cheek. He reached through the gap between the two front seats and put a hand on her shoulder to comfort her.</p>
<p>"We're sorry Ophelia. Are you okay to drive still? I don't mind taking over. I know I shouldn't but if you don't feel up to it I will. Sam said as he rubbed her arm.</p>
<p>"Thanks Sam, I'm okay. Is there anything else you guys want to tell me before I start driving again?"</p>
<p>Her brothers shook their heads to tell her that they hadn't got anything else. "Right then. Lets go." Ophelia said.</p>
<p>They arrived back at the hotel and headed towards the rooms.</p>
<p>"Okay, well you guys can come sit in my room. Give me this proof and we can go from there. How about that?" Ophelia said it very matter of factly.</p>
<p>They followed the short woman towards her room. Dean was unsure if he had ruined the relationship he had just created with his sister.</p>
<p>Ophelia unlocked the door and held it open for the two men. She sat on the bed, Dean sat on the chair by the desk and Sam hovered around the window.</p>
<p>"This proof then?" Ophelia said looking at Dean. "What is it?"</p>
<p>"I'm going to call Cas." Dean said looking at Sam.</p>
<p>Sam nodded at his brother. There was an understanding there that Ophelia didn't get.</p>
<p>Dean closed his eyes and whispered something to himself. Ophelia fiddled with her hands, not really sure what was going on.</p>
<p>"You called Dean?" A rough unknown voice spoke from inside the room.</p>
<p>"Hi, yeah, Cas I want you to meet Ophelia, our sister." Dean said.</p>
<p>Ophelia looked up to where the voice came from. A new man was standing in the room. He looked older than the two Winchesters. Dean addressed the man as Cas, this was the guy who dropped them off.</p>
<p>"How did you get into my room?" Ophelia asked in a panicked tone.</p>
<p>"Ophelia, it's okay, this is Cas. He's our friend. He's also an angel." Sam said as he moved from next to the window to greet Cas.</p>
<p>"Oh, this is the illegitimate child John had?" Cas asked. He moved towards her from the door. Ophelia stood from the bed and reached out a hand. Cas ignored the offer of a handshake and gave Ophelia a hug.</p>
<p>"Ophelia Winchester, it is a pleasure to meet you. You are known to the angels as the Winchester who never joined the family business. There were other plans for you but as ever, plans change." Cas released Ophelia from the hug and looked her deep in the eye as he said the last sentence.</p>
<p>Angels knew of her? As far as Ophelia was concerned she was an accident. She was never supposed to happen.</p>
<p>"I'm sorry, Cas was it? How did you get here?" Ophelia asked slowly.</p>
<p>"I simply apperated here. I can travel all over the world in a matter of seconds. When Dean called me, I was at the Men of Letters bunker." Cas explained.</p>
<p>Ophelia sat back down on the bed and stared at a mark on the carpet, her mind was mush, she didn't know how to communicate what she was feeling. Her heart was racing; going at a million miles per hour. She placed her hands on her knees to try and stop them from shaking.</p>
<p>Sam looked concerned. He knew what was happening, he had a few anxiety attacks back at Stamford and knew the signs.</p>
<p>"Ophelia, are you okay? Do you need water? What can I do to help?" Sam asked sitting next to her on the bed. He rubbed her back in small circular movements as she tried to steady her breathing.</p>
<p>"...Some water would be nice. Please." Ophelia replied in a shaky voice. Sam glanced at Dean who nodded before rushing to the bathroom. He returned with a glass full of water, he knelt down so he could look Ophelia in the eye and handed her the glass.</p>
<p>Taking sips of the water Ophelia started to feel a little better. "This is all so much to take in. First you guys, then you tell me my grandad knew about it all from dad and now a literal angel is in my hotel room."</p>
<p>"We know it's a lot but it's okay. We're here every step of the way." Dean told her, still kneeling on the floor.</p>
<p>"I mean, this is ridiculous right? Monsters, angels, hunting and everything. It's ridiculous." Ophelia was shaking a little less now but she still couldn't get her head around it.</p>
<p>"It's actually quite logical, Ophelia. Folk stories and fairy tales have to come from somewhere." Cas said in a flat tone.</p>
<p>The three Winchesters looked at the angel. "Thanks Cas. That's exactly what she needed to hear you asshat." Dean remarked with sarcasm.</p>
<p>"No, thank you Cas, that actually makes sense. I had never thought about it that way." Ophelia said. She looked up at the angel and smiled.</p>
<p>"Okay, so now what?" Dean asked his sister.</p>
<p>"Well, that depends. I want to be a part of your life, you're the only family I really have now. Mum and I are patching things up, I think, but I can't move back in with her and her boyfriend." Ophelia replied. "On the other hand I'm not sure how I can help you. Like, I know a little about that world but nothing about it in America. My specialism at university is the occult in Europe, but that's probably not much help and you probably know it anyway." The girl was weighing up her options. She could just stay here and carry on with life and keep emailing them or she could join the 'family business' like Cas had called it.</p>
<p>"You..." Sam started to speak but stopped halfway through his thought.</p>
<p>"What are you thinking Sammy?" Dean asked. "If it's what I think you're thinking then it's going to be a no from me."</p>
<p>"I mean she's already in danger right? If the angels know about her, what are the chances that so do the demons? Wouldn't it be better if we could keep an eye on her?" Sam continued.</p>
<p>"What are you guys talking about. Demons? Like Lucifer's minions? They're real too? Bloody hell. Also am I in danger? Nothing has happened to me in my 19 years of life." Ophelia questioned.</p>
<p>"That isn't strictly true. I can sense demonic energy now." Cas chimed in.</p>
<p>"I'm sorry, you can what now?" Ophelia said with a start.</p>
<p>"Cas, come on man, maybe you should have led with that? There is a demon nearby?" Dean replied.</p>
<p>"I'm sorry Dean but I thought that your heart to heart with a long lost sibling might come first."</p>
<p>"Damn it Cas! Now is not the time for heart to hearts if we're being watched by demons!"</p>
<p>"Okay, everyone stay calm. What are we going to do?" Ophelia finally spoke after the initial shock. She was unsure where the sudden calmness and confidence came from.</p>
<p>"We need a plan." Sam said. He was still rubbing Ophelia's back subconsciously, not sure now if it was to comfort her or him.</p>
<p>"Right, well we need to leave as quickly as possible. Is there anywhere we can go?" Dean asked.</p>
<p>"Mum...Is she safe?" Ophelia realised that as she was in danger her mum could be to.</p>
<p>"She lives at the home your grandad owned, is that correct?" Cas replied. Ophelia nodded. "Then yes, she is safe. John put protections in place so nothing can hurt you or Sandra."</p>
<p>"Then we go there." Ophelia stood up and pulled her suitcase out from under the bed. "You guys go get your things and meet me in the reception area in ten minutes."</p>
<p>As Opheila began to pack Dean spoke. "Are you sure your mom will be okay with Sam and I turning up on her doorstep?"</p>
<p>"It'll be for a day, maybe two days, while we can figure it all out."</p>
<p>Sam was the one to speak next. "Okay well then, Cas stay here with Ophelia just in case anything happens. She can't defend herself against a demon even if she is a Winchester by blood."</p>
<p>Cas nodded in agreement. Ophelia thought this was fair. She had no idea what she was doing anymore. Her brain had gone into overdrive.</p>
<p>Cas stood in the corner, monitoring Ophelia's every movement. She was frantically packing all her clothes that she had only just unpacked.</p>
<p>"Is there anything I can do Ophelia?" Cas asked in his gravelly voice.</p>
<p>"Yeah, can you pack my makeup that's in the bathroom? You do know what that is right?"</p>
<p>"Yes, I know what makeup is. I have been alive since the beginning of time." Cas replied as he headed into the bathroom.</p>
<p>"Right, yeah, of course you have. How silly of me."</p>
<p>"It's okay, this is all very new, you had no reason to know that." Cas said</p>
<p>"I was being sarcastic Cas." Ophelia said with a slight giggle and a smile.</p>
<p>The angel smiled at her and said "Ah, your brothers are also fond of sarcasm. I see that I still have a lot to learn though." His smile turned into one of slight embarrassment.</p>
<p>"It's okay Cas, British humour is also apparently difficult for some people to understand. I assume being an angel doesn't make you immune to that." Ophelia reassured him as she packed her shoes.</p>
<p>She reached out towards Cas and took the bag of toiletries he was holding awkwardly and continued talking. "How do you know my brothers then?"</p>
<p>"I resurrected Dean in 2008 after he was sent to Hell and I have been with them ever since." Cas replied in a deadpan way.</p>
<p>"I should have realised by now that that was not going to be a normal answer like 'oh we met through a friend' shouldn't I?"</p>
<p>Ophelia finished packing and made sure she had everything; keys, phone, laptop, headphones and chargers.</p>
<p>Cas opened the door for her so she could wheel her suitcase out into the corridor with ease.</p>
<p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------</p>
<p>"She should come with us. All I'm saying is that the girl is basically homeless and not protected. Did you not hear her when she said she was sleeping in her car?" Sam told Dean when they got out into the corridor.</p>
<p>"Of course I remember Sammy. I just don't know about it. She can't come out on hunts and every person we care about has a tendency to die in a tragic and painful way." Dean replied "We will talk more about this when we're at her mom's place.</p>
<p>They met up with Ophelia and Cas in the reception of the hotel. "Are you guys ready to go?" Ophelia said in a quiet voice.</p>
<p>"Yep, lets get moving as quickly as possible." Dean said.</p>
<p>"Okay well I'll hand back the keys and ask for a refund, I'm sure it'll be okay. Do you guys want to wait out near the car?" Ophelia asked.</p>
<p>"Oh no, we're not leaving you alone. If there is a demon here then you need us with you." Dean's voice was serious and slightly scary to Ophelia. She just nodded and headed towards the desk.</p>
<p>"How can I help Miss?" A new receptionist asked. They weren't wearing a badge and his clothes were not quite right.</p>
<p>Tentatively Ophelia handed back all three room keys and said "Something has come up. We're having to leave. Can we get a refund on the days we didn't stay?"</p>
<p>The nameless man looked at her blankly before opening his mouth. "Of course. However there is a note here for me to call my manager if you or those two gentlemen leave early. I'll be right back." There was something sinister about his presence. He left and headed into the back office. Cas came up and grabbed Ophelia by the hand.</p>
<p>"We need to go right now Ophelia." He said with haste.</p>
<p>"What about our refund? Like, this cost me more money than I'd care to say." Ophelia was confused at the rush.</p>
<p>"That man is a demon, I can see their true faces. We need to go now."</p>
<p>Ophelia looked at Sam and Dean, they looked worried as well. She took a quick look back at the back office door before turning to catch up with Sam and Dean who were now outside heading to the car.</p>
<p>Throwing their bags into the boot, Ophelia got into the front seat and started the car.</p>
<p>"Is everyone in?" She asked. There was a low grumble of confirmation from the three men. "Fantastic." Ophelia replied before speeding out of the car park towards her mum's home.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Four</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Okay, everything is okay. Everything is okay right? Please someone in this car tell me that this is okay!"</p>
<p>"Ophelia, don't worry, everything will be fine. You have Sam, Cas and I and we're not going to let anything happen to you. I promise." Dean reassured Ophelia.</p>
<p>"You promise do you? Is that why Cas had to resurrect you in 2008? Because if you ask me that doesn't sound like a small risk." Ophelia said to the man that sat on her left.</p>
<p>"Damn it Cas you told her?" Dean said with anger in his voice. He turned to face the angel in the back seat.</p>
<p>"She asked how I knew you both, I didn't see a reason to lie to her. She is your sister after all. The chances are that I'll end up bringing her back at some point too." He replied.</p>
<p>"Hey, how about we don't say things like that while I'm driving. Do you guys know not to distract the driver or does that not exist in the States?" Ophelia raised her voice above the argument that had erupted between Cas and Dean.</p>
<p>"Do they always bicker like an old married couple?" Ophelia asked Sam.</p>
<p>"Yeah, they do." He replied in a voice that seemed to say he was tired of it.</p>
<p>The men settled down again. "To be honest, I'd rather die trying to help people than from old age." Ophelia continued in a softer voice. "If I do help you guys, then I know that that'll be a risk."</p>
<p>The car ride was quiet for the rest of the journey.</p>
<p>"Right, now, I've not had a chance to warn my mum that we are coming. Cas, would you mind not coming in? I think it might overwhelm her." Ophelia asked looking into the rearview mirror to make eye contact with the angel.</p>
<p>"Yes, I understand. Would you like me to wait in the car or would you like me to go home?"</p>
<p>"Oh well, that's completely up to you. Is there anything you need to do?"</p>
<p>"Not really, Ophelia. I will go back to the bunker and wait for one of you to call me."</p>
<p>"Wait... Can I do that?" Ophelia asked</p>
<p>"Of course you can. I will listen out for your calls now Ophelia. If you had needed an angel beforehand though, I would have been there." Cas replied.</p>
<p>A smile creeped across her face. It was nice to know that someone was watching over her even if she didn't know it.</p>
<p>"Can you tell us a bit more about the situation with your mom and her boyfriend?" Sam asked cautiously.</p>
<p>"Hmm... Yeah well now seems like as good a time as any. It's kind of silly really. Brad, her boyfriend, is a really shit person. While my grandad was alive it wasn't too bad but since he died six months ago it got worse." Ophelia took a deep breath and glanced at the photo of her grandad William.</p>
<p>"Brad was emotionally abusive to me. I think he has been physically abusive to my mum and if he hasn't yet I think he will. It got really bad once Grandad wasn't there to protect us."</p>
<p>Dean reached out and patted Ophelia on the knee in reassurance. She continued. "About five months ago we got into an argument, I can't even remember what it was about, and he threatened to kick me out. Mum wasn't strong enough to stand up to him. So, I left."</p>
<p>"You said you were mending things with you mom though right?" Sam asked, hoping he was remembering right.</p>
<p>"Yeah, the day I replied to your letter I stayed at her place that night. We talked, I don't know if she really took in what I said but it's a start." Ophelia's smile came back to her face. It occurred to both Sam and Dean that Ophelia was putting on a brave face for them.</p>
<p>Ophelia pulled into the same spot she filled the last time she was outside her mum's house.</p>
<p>"Well, this is it guys." She announced turning the car's engine off.</p>
<p>"It's a nice looking place. Bigger than I thought it was going to be. I thought all English homes were small and joined up." Dean remarked.</p>
<p>"This house would have been for someone very wealthy back in the day." Ophelia said laughing. "Probably an old slave trader as we're so close to the sea. Grandad picked it up really cheap when him and my grandma were first married. It was in such a state, practically falling apart. He fixed it up."</p>
<p>She locked the car behind her and they all said goodbye to Cas before he took off. Ophelia hadn't realised that he made a whooshing sound when he took off.</p>
<p>The three Winchester siblings walked towards the front door. Ophelia had that familiar sick feeling in her stomach again. She hadn't been home since her mum gave her the letter. It was enough to make her feel light headed.</p>
<p>Dean was the one who knocked on the door. He stood slightly in front of Ophelia while Sam stood behind her.</p>
<p>They all waited for the door to open. Dean looked back at Ophelia and smiled, she looked nervous. This was the first time Dean had felt slightly protective over Ophelia, despite only knowing her in person for half a day.</p>
<p>When he first found out about Ophelia, he wasn't sure if he wanted to know her, at the end of the day it would be someone else to look after. He considered not telling Sam about the pages about her in a diary he had never seen before. At the end of the day though, he couldn't keep that secret from Sam.</p>
<p>They talked about it for weeks, going back and forth on if they should send the letter or not. Sam was all for it from day one and once Castiel had said the angels had been keeping an eye on her Dean realised that she could possibly do with knowing about them on their terms and not on some monsters who wanted information.</p>
<p>Ophelia smiled back at Dean and went back to chipping at her deep red nail polish.</p>
<p>A man opened the door, Dean assumed that this was Brad. He was shorter than Dean was and had dirty blonde hair that looked greasy as he had slicked it back.</p>
<p>"Hi Brad." Ophelia piped up from behind Dean. It was as if she was hiding behind him. "Is my mum there?"</p>
<p>"Ophelia, yes she is. Who are these men?" Brad replied with a strong tone of detest in his voice.</p>
<p>"Oh, we're her brothers." Dean said in a commanding voice. He extended a hand towards Brad and continued. "My name is Dean and that's Sam. I believe what Ophelia is too afraid to ask is can we come in to see her mom?"</p>
<p>Brad cautiously shook Dean's hand. He winced as Dean gripped his hand tightly.</p>
<p>"Yes, well, um. I believe she is in the garden. I can take you there if you want." Brad said, trying to regain control of the situation.</p>
<p>"Oh no. That's okay. I think Ophelia knows the way to the garden in the house she grew up in." Sam replied in an equally stern voice.</p>
<p>Brad just nodded and stepped aside for the three of them.</p>
<p>Ophelia walked into the house first, followed by Dean and then Sam. She kept her eyes to the ground, not making eye contact with Brad. Dean and Sam didn't take their eyes off him as they followed Ophelia down the hallway.</p>
<p>When they were alone Sam spoke in a hushed tone. "Are you okay Ophelia? That seemed difficult for you."</p>
<p>"Yeah, it was Sam. I just don't need the greef from him today. If you guys weren't here I know for sure he'd find something to have a problem with."</p>
<p>"It's okay. We're here for you. We've got your back." Dean added.</p>
<p>They continued through the kitchen and out into the garden. As it was about three in the afternoon the winter sun was getting low in the sky.</p>
<p>"Hi mum, what are you doing out here? You'll catch a cold." Ophelia said to get her mum's attention.</p>
<p>Sandra was sitting on a woven outdoor chair, wrapped in a bright yellow blanket. In the low light she looked quite ill and worn down.</p>
<p>The boys stood by the back door while the daughter greeted her mum. It was nice to see a genuine parent and child relationship. Dean didn't remember when that last happened. He came to the conclusion that it was probably when Bobby was still alive.</p>
<p>"'Phelia, what are you doing here? I wasn't expecting you." Sandra said with a surprised tone.</p>
<p>"Yeah, about that mum, I'd like to introduce you to two people." Ophelia beckoned Sam and Dean over to her. "These are my brothers mum, this is Sam and that is Dean and we all need somewhere to stay for a few nights."</p>
<p>Dean reached his hand out. "It's lovely to finally put a face to the name Ms Humphries." Dean said. His voice had more of a southern twang now then Ophelia had heard previously.</p>
<p>Sandra shook Dean's hand. She looked shocked and as if she had seen a ghost.</p>
<p>Sam also extended a hand. "Hi Ms Humphries, Ophelia is a lovely girl. We're so happy to have her be a part of the family."</p>
<p>"You both look so much like John..." Sandra said in a soft voice. "I'm so sorry for your loss. I loved him very much and he gave me the most precious thing in this world." Sandra glanced at Ophelia. "You say that you need somewhere to stay for a few days. I think I can manage that."</p>
<p>"Are you sure Brad won't mind?" Ophelia asked sheepishly.</p>
<p>"I won't give him a choice. Sam and Dean are as good as family and I won't have him drive away any more of my family." Sandra had a firmness to her voice that Ophelia had not heard in a few years. "Now, lets get back inside. I'm making a lasagna tonight so you guys came on the right day. 'Phelia, darling, could you go put the oven on? I'm making homemade garlic bread too."</p>
<p>The girl gave her mum a deep hug before walking into the house again.</p>
<p>"You boys will look after her won't you?" Sandra asked.</p>
<p>"Of course we will but I don't think she needs it Ms Humphries, she seems like an incredibly strong young woman." Sam replied.</p>
<p>"She is, but I don't want to lose her. I lost your dad and I cannot lose her too. My dad told me what John had told him, I didn't believe it but when I talked to John it all made sense." Sandra admitted to the two men in front of her.</p>
<p>"And you didn't tell Ophelia?" Dean questioned. "Why?"</p>
<p>"It was for the best, I didn't want her to go into the industry. I expect that you've told her and that's why you're here? For protection?"</p>
<p>"Yes ma'am, we had a little scare at the hotel we were staying at. Thought it would be best to come here to regroup." replied Dean.</p>
<p>Sandra nodded her head, it made sense. Ophelia wouldn't just turn up out of nowhere unless she had to. She wouldn't risk it.</p>
<p>The conversation was interrupted by Ophelia calling from the back door. "Hey guys, you might want to come back in as Brad is getting bitchy about how cold it is with the door open." Her face gave the impression that she didn't care that much.</p>
<p>Sandra wrapped the blanket around her tighter and headed back inside followed by Sam and Dean.</p>
<p>The afternoon turned into the evening. It was filled with laughter, cooking and childhood memories from all three Winchester children.</p>
<p>"I remember dad teaching both Sammy and I how to drive and oh man, it was bad to begin with. Sandra I don't know if dad drove you anywhere but that man did not drive well in his old age." Dean said through laughter.</p>
<p>"Well at least you didn't have grandad teaching you. Imagine it, I'm 16 years-old and I get into the front seat of his car for the first time and I get this lecture."</p>
<p>Ophelia composed herself and mimicked her grandad. "Now, Ophelia, this car is my one pride and joy other than your mother and you, but if you scratch her not only will I never talk to you again but I'll leave her to a local car buff." She burst into laughter as soon as she finished the impression. "Obviously he was joking, but it was enough to make me do fifteen in a twenty mile an hour zone."</p>
<p>"He gave me that same speech when I learned to drive!" Sandra added. Ophelia could see genuine joy and happiness on her mum's face, this wasn't something she was used to seeing.</p>
<p>A timer pinged and Ophelia stepped away from the large oak table that stood in the kitchen. She picked up a tea towel and pulled out the fresh baked bread. She carried it over to her family and placed it on a board in the center of the table.</p>
<p>"That smells amazing Sandra." Sam said.</p>
<p>"Oh, you're too kind, it's a simple recipe really. Have I taught you how to do it 'Phelia?"</p>
<p>"Yeah, mum, it's in the recipe book you made me last year."</p>
<p>"Can you keep it down. Please. Some of us still have work to do." Brad interrupted the jovial mood. He works from home occasionally.</p>
<p>"Sorry, Brad. We'll keep it down." Sandra's face dropped at the request.</p>
<p>"I expect you to. Unlike some, I have an actual job that isn't just a glorified hobby." He replied. He gave a stern look at Sandra and headed back to his office.</p>
<p>"What was that about?" Dean asked cautiously. He knew something was not quite right about this whole situation and could understand why Ophelia was so uneasy about leaving her mum alone with Brad.</p>
<p>"Mum is an artist. In recent years her business has taken off, she makes prints and paintings as well as jewelry and soft furnishings like bedspreads and stuff." Ophelia remarked with great pride.</p>
<p>Sandra looked at her daughter's face and smiled. "I've even been talking about branching off into interior design. Everyone compliments me on how I've designed this home so why not do it in other people's homes too."</p>
<p>"Well I think that deserves a toast!" Dean said. "What drinks do you guys have in?"</p>
<p>"Well, we have real British ale, Scottish whiskey and Irish whisky as well as some other spirits. Oh and there is a cider in here, no idea how long that has been here." Ophelia said while ratcheting around in the cupboards and fridge.</p>
<p>"I'll have some Scottish whiskey please Ophelia." Sam said. She filled a glass with a large measure and passed it to him.</p>
<p>"I'll have one of the ales kiddo." Dean said. Sam looked shocked at this. "What? You were the one who said when in Rome right?" Sam just shrugged his shoulders at his brother.</p>
<p>Ophelia poured a glass of white wine for herself and Sandra. "Hold on there kiddo, wine? At your age?" Dean said slightly shocked.</p>
<p>"Dean, the drinking age here is eighteen. I've been having alcohol from probably the age of sixteen. It's okay man, I'm almost 20." Ophelia replied.</p>
<p>Dean looked embarrassed and raised his glass. "To newly found family and new business ventures." They all clinked glasses in celebration.</p>
<p>The night continued on. Brad said he was too busy to join them for dinner so he took a plate of food to his office. Ophelia was annoyed by this. Her mum had put so much work into making everyone feel welcome in their home. Secretly, she did like it that he wasn't there. She could relax.</p>
<p>It was getting late and Ophelia felt herself getting more tired. It was probably the wine that she had, it always made her sleepy.</p>
<p>"I can show you guys to the spare rooms if you want?" Ophelia said, hoping the boys will pick up on the hint she was dropping.</p>
<p>Sam did pick up on it. "Yeah, sure that would be great. Lets go get our bags."</p>
<p>The three of them headed towards the front door. "Oh are you guys leaving so soon? We didn't spend any time together." Brad said pretending to care.</p>
<p>"Actually, we're just going to get our bags from the car. We're staying a few nights." Sam replied.</p>
<p>"That's odd. Sandra didn't run this by me."</p>
<p>"Does she have to? I mean, it is her house and we are family." Dean added to the conversation.</p>
<p>"No you're not family, Ophelia is family and she doesn't even stay here do you Ophelia?" Brad stared at the girl.</p>
<p>"Anyway, that's beside the point. Sandra has said we're staying for a few nights and as this was her fathers house and not yours." Dean continued. His voice was harsh and protective against Brad's confidence.</p>
<p>Accepting defeat this time, Brad turned and walked into his office which was just off the main hallway.</p>
<p>Sam opened the door as they headed towards the car. Once outside Ophelia thanked her brothers. "It means a lot to me for you guys to stick up for me like that. He really knocked my confidence when I left and I know my mum isn't as strong as she used to be. Every time I go to open my mouth I stop because I know I can't win."</p>
<p>"Don't worry about it Kiddo, like we said, we're always going to be there for you." Dean ruffled her hair, disturbing the curls which now found themselves in Ophelia's eyes.</p>
<p>She reshaped her hair and playfully slapped her brothers hand away from her hair. She had known these two men for all of nine hours and yet it felt like they had known eachother since birth.</p>
<p>After collecting their stuff from the car, Ophelia showed the boys to their rooms. "If you want clean towels there are some in the bottom draw in Sam's room. Oh and if you get cold there are blankets in the airing cupboard in the bathroom."</p>
<p>"Hey, Ophelia, sit with us. We should start talking about what we're going to do." Sam said in a soft, caring voice.</p>
<p>Ophelia nodded slightly and sat cross legged on the end of the bed next to Sam. Dean perched himself against the draws on the wall opposite the door. The tree looked at eachother, unsure who should talk first.</p>
<p>Sam took the first step into a new conversation. "We don't feel comfortable leaving you sleeping in your car or in random hotels."</p>
<p>"It's not that bad, it gets a little cold at times but it's not too bad." Ophelia said, she was fiddling with her hands, picking at her nail vanish again.</p>
<p>"We know exactly how bad it can be. Don't pretend with us kid." Dean said "We had eachother so it wasn't too bad. You don't have anyone when you're out there."</p>
<p>Ophelia shrugged "What do you suggest I do?" Her voice was wobbly.</p>
<p>"Well, there are two options. You either promise us to move back in with you mom." As Sam said this he saw Ophelia tense up slightly. Brad really frightens her more than she outwardly lets on. "Or" Sam continued. "Or, you come to America with us."</p>
<p>She looked up at Sam and then at Dean. "You guys can't be serious... I can't just up and move. What about school? And mum, what's going to happen to her? I can't leave her here on her own."</p>
<p>"Well then, looks like you're moving back home then." Dean said with some humour in his voice.</p>
<p>"Dean this is serious. You both hardly know me and you'd take me in?" She ran her fingers through her black curls, unsure what to say next.</p>
<p>"You said school is online right? So you can do it from anywhere with an internet connection. The bunker has that. As far as your mom goes, she'll be fine as long as she doesn't move house. We can get Cas to drop in on occasion too if that makes you feel better." Sam made the argument for the move.</p>
<p>"Can I sleep on it? This is a lot to take in... It's been a long day." Ophelia finally replied.</p>
<p>"Look, take a few days if you need. We will stay with you until you have made up your mind." Sam said.</p>
<p>Dean nodded in agreement. Ophelia got the impression that they really wanted her to go with them.</p>
<p>"Won't it be dangerous?" She asked.</p>
<p>"Most likely, but don't think you're coming out with us on hunts until we both think you're prepared. I'd personally be more than happy for you to never come on a hunt with us." Dean emphasized the point of being prepared.</p>
<p>Ophelia would love to go out with them at some point but she understood that she is both mentally and physically not capable of doing that at this moment.</p>
<p>"Look, it's getting late, go get some rest kiddo, and we will talk more in the morning." Dean said.</p>
<p>Ophelia stood from the bed and wrapped her arms around Dean. This didn't take Dean by surprise but what did was how small she was. She was much smaller than he thought she was, he had met women her size before but none that looked as delicate and helpless. He leaned into the hug and placed his chin on the top of her head.</p>
<p>She let go of Dean and hugged Sam who had also stood up from the bed. Sam put his right hand on the back of her head to hold his baby sister close. He had always wanted a little sister and was secretly loving every moment of being in Ophelia's life.</p>
<p>Sam squeezed Ophelia just for a little longer before letting her go. She headed towards the door but before she left she turned back towards the brothers.</p>
<p>"Thank you both. I'll see you in the morning, sleep well." The two men nodded in response.</p>
<p>Ophelia headed back towards her room but before she could get to the door a noise distracted her.</p>
<p>"You let them stay? Two strange men that Ophelia brings over and you let them stay?"</p>
<p>"Brad don't be ridiculous, they're her brothers. I'm not going to say no to them."</p>
<p>An argument had erupted between her mother and Brad. Ophelia sat half way down the stairs so she could hear what was going on.</p>
<p>"You didn't have the decency to run it past me. How am I meant to trust you if you're just letting any Tom, Dick or Harry stay."</p>
<p>"Again, they're her brothers and she trusts them and if they're anything like their father they're good natured men." Sandra fired back. Ophelia hadn't heard her mum talk back to Brad like this ever. She was proud of her mum.</p>
<p>"Oh, like their father huh? You mean the man who left you with a newborn baby to go back to his family in America?"</p>
<p>"We both agreed he should go back. That was a mutual thing that took a lot of talking about. Do not speak on things you don't understand."</p>
<p>Ophelia was peering through the bars on the banister to try and get a better look at the argument.</p>
<p>"Well, Sandra it seems like you're getting everything your way, like usual. You have no thought for anyone but yourself. You're a selfish woman."</p>
<p>That was the last straw for Ophelia. She ran down the rest of the stairs to be by her mum's side. "You need to leave Brad. Get out of this house." She said with a confidence that seemed to come out of nowhere.</p>
<p>"Oh is that right Ophelia? I need to leave do I? We already kicked you out once and we will do it again."</p>
<p>"No, there was no 'we' in that situation Brad. You kicked her out and I was too scared to stand up to you. It was my biggest mistake." Sandra used the confidence her little girl had shown to stand her own ground.</p>
<p>"Oh come on Sandra, you're a grown woman, you can stand up for yourself." Brad said with a cocky smirk on his face.</p>
<p>"No, not if she's scared of the abuse you'd give her." Ophelia grabbed her mum's hand and squeezed it. "Mum, go up and see Sam or Dean. Brad is going to need help taking things to his car."</p>
<p>"Are you going to let this child talk to me like this Sandra? In our house? There is no way I'm leaving, you're a spoiled brat who thinks she can always get what she wants." Brad said with ease.</p>
<p>"My house." Sandra simply replied.</p>
<p>"I'm sorry?"</p>
<p>"This is my house Brad. My family home. Ophelia is right, you need to go and you need to go tonight. Go pack some clothes and some of your things. We can sort the bigger items once you've got a more permanent place to stay."</p>
<p>Sam slowly walked down the stairs to see what the commotion was about.</p>
<p>"Is everything okay here Sandra? Ophelia, are you alright?" Sam joined his sister next to Sandra.</p>
<p>"Oh this is just what we need. An American butting in where they don't belong." Brad gestured at Sam in disgust. "Listen, Sandra, you're blowing everything out of proportion. We can work things out."</p>
<p>"No, you're leaving today. I'm done with all the abuse. Go pack." Sandra squeezed Ophelia's hand for support.</p>
<p>"Right, well, I'll give you some space for a few days but once you've come to your senses and realise that you're over reacting maybe give me a call and I'll think about moving back in." Brad replied.</p>
<p>By this point Dean had joined the group "Do you need help?" he said feigning sympathy.</p>
<p>"I think I can manage thank you. I don't expect I'll need much as I won't be gone for long." Brad said as he walked passed the group and up the stairs.</p>
<p>Ophelia hugged her mum tightly. "I'm so proud of you." She whispered into Sandra's hair. "I know that was hard for you but it's for the best."</p>
<p>"I never thought I would be able to stand up to him like that." Sandra whispered back.</p>
<p>"I think we should move into the kitchen so we're not just standing next to the door." Sam said. Ophelia let go of her mum and took her by the hand. All four of them moved from the hallway to the kitchen.</p>
<p>A short time later Brad came down the stairs, dragging a large suitcase behind him.</p>
<p>Dean gets up from the kitchen table and heads towards the front door.</p>
<p>"Now, I don't want to be hearing that you've wormed your way back into Sandra's life." Dean said while leaning up against the wall.</p>
<p>"I'll be back, Sandra won't cope without me."</p>
<p>"You seem to not know her very well. I've known her for all of an evening and she seems to have a plan for herself and her future. I mean, have you even talked to her about her plans?"</p>
<p>"Oh her silly art business? Please, that's a glorified hobby." Brad snorted. "Don't humour her."</p>
<p>"I think that it's time for you to go. If you can't support her passion and business then you don't deserve to be with her." Dean replied. He pushed passed Brad and opened the front door. He gestured to the darkness outside.</p>
<p>Brad took his suitcase and walked towards his small silver car.</p>
<p>"Oh before you go. I'll take your house keys too." Dean said.</p>
<p>Brad chucked the keys at Dean before getting into his car.</p>
<p>Dean slammed the door and walked back into the kitchen. He placed the keys in front of Sandra before sitting back down. Ophelia hugged her mum one last time.</p>
<p>"Everything is going to be okay mum, I promise."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Five</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ophelia flicked the kettle on and it began to boil. She took four mugs off the mug tree and started to fill them. A scoop of coffee with no sugar for Sam and Dean, a tea with two scoops of sugar for Ophelia and hot chocolate for Sandra.</p>
<p>Sandra never could quite make hot chocolate like Ophelia, she either made it too sweet or too bitter, Ophelia had picked up the skill from her grandma when she was still alive.</p>
<p>The Winchester boys stood in the hallway, away from Ophelia and her mum.</p>
<p>“Do you think she’ll come now that her mom is on her own?” Dean asked in a whispered voice.</p>
<p>“I’m not sure, I think she might consider it now that Sandra isn’t in any real danger from Brad.” Sam said in an equally quiet voice.</p>
<p>“I’m not sure Sammy, she’s comfortable here and she seemed unsure when we were talking before.” Dean replied.</p>
<p>“Guys!” Ophelia called out from the kitchen “Your coffee is getting cold!”</p>
<p>“We'll talk about it more in the morning. It’s been a hard day for her.” Sam said heading towards the kitchen.<br/>They all sat at the oak table drinking their various hot drinks in almost silence until Ophelia spoke up.</p>
<p>“Mum, are you okay on your own in this big house?” Ophelia asked. She cradled the mug of tea in her hands, seeking what little warmth it had left.</p>
<p>“Don’t be silly ‘Phelia, you can move back in and then I won’t be on my own.” Sandra replied with a smile on her face. The smile was bright, relaxed and lit up her face.</p>
<p>Ophelia looked deep into the cooling tea, swerling the last of liquid in the bottom of her mug. She chewed the inside of her lip and narrowed her brows.</p>
<p>Dean noticed the look of contemplation on Ophelia’s face, she shared the same thinking face as Sam. He smiled slightly at the similarity.</p>
<p>“Yeah, I could move back in…” Ophelia paused.</p>
<p>“What’s wrong ‘Phelia?” Sandra asked puzzled.</p>
<p>“You see mum, I don’t think I want to come home. I love you so much but I need to leave home and act like a normal person my own age.”</p>
<p>Sandra’s face dropped with sadness.</p>
<p>“I’m almost twenty, and a lot of the time people are living on their own or at least away from their parents. All my friends from school moved to their university towns and now live with friends.”</p>
<p>“What are you saying, Ophelia?” Sandra asked.</p>
<p>“Sam and Dean have asked me to move to America with them and I think I want to go.” She blurted out. Her face flushed red at the outburst.</p>
<p>Sam and Dean looked startled by the sudden announcement.</p>
<p>“Are you sure you don’t want to think about it a little more kiddo?” Dean asked.</p>
<p>“Yeah, Dean’s right Ophelia, we have only just met and we offered you to come live with us because you were practically homeless.”</p>
<p>“So you… you weren't being serious?” Ophelia’s excitement trailed off.</p>
<p>“Of course we meant it and we’re still being serious but you shouldn’t rush into this. We said we’d be here for you when you made the decision, but we talked about this about two hours ago. Sleep on it kiddo.” Dean reassured his little sister.</p>
<p>Ophelia felt stupid at what she had said, maybe her brothers had been right, maybe she did need to think about it. She glanced at her mother. She noticed the hurt on Sandra’s face.</p>
<p>“I understand Ophelia, I really do. When I went to art school I loved being away from your grandparents. I think Sam and Dean are right. Sleep on the thought.” Sandra said with a touch of a whisper.</p>
<p>The girl nodded. She moved around the table and gave Sandra a hug goodnight. Dean patted her on the back when she passed and Sam gave a weak wave goodnight.</p>
<p>Ophelia slipped into bed, her room had changed more since she was last here. All of her personality had been removed. She didn’t want to live here, it didn't feel welcoming, it would never feel the same in this room.</p>
<p>If she lived in America with Sam and Dean she could start again. It would be good for her to move away and be her own person.</p>
<p>She snuggled down into the soft warm covers and drifted to sleep.</p>
<p>Sam woke to the smell of food cooking. He got dressed and ready before heading down to the kitchen. He was greeted by Dean and Sandra.</p>
<p>“Has Ophelia made an appearance?” Sam asked.</p>
<p>“No, not yet. It is still early though, you know how young people are.” Sandra replied. Her tone was not her usual one. “Do you know what,” she said, “I really wish you had run it by me before offering a spot in your home to her.” Sandra sighed as if she had been holding the comment in for some time.</p>
<p>“She was living out of her car Sandra.” Dean replied slowly.</p>
<p>“I didn’t know that. I thought she was staying with friends.”</p>
<p>“She said yesterday that all her friends had gone to university.” Sam replied sleepily.</p>
<p>Sandra moved bacon in the pan absent mindedly contemplating what the boys had said. Ophelia had no friends in the town, she had been living in her car and in random hotels… This hurt Sandra as much as you’d expect when a mother is told that her child was homeless.</p>
<p>Realising the bacon was on the verge of burning, Sandra placed the strips into the soft homemade bread that had been the night before. She handed both boys sandwiches.</p>
<p>Ophelia awoke to the sun streaming into the room, in the chaos of the night before she had forgotten to close the blinds.</p>
<p>She reached into her suitcase and pulled out a rust coloured short sleeved shirt and a pair of light blue denim mom jeans. Once dressed she found an old black belt that had a silver buckle and a small silver chain necklace that had a charm of a star with sun rays around it. Ophelia grabbed her phone and left her room.</p>
<p>She heard soft talking in the kitchen and quietly approached.</p>
<p>“She’s still a child, I don’t want her doing anything that might put her in harm's way. I don’t want to lose my little girl like I lost your father.” She heard her mother say.</p>
<p>“She’s an adult Sandra, she has been making decisions for herself for the past six months and is doing well. She’s enjoying school and getting good grades. She can do that from anywhere.” Sam replied.</p>
<p>“And besides, we’re not going to let her get into any danger. She will be safe at the bunker.” Dean added.</p>
<p>“I will be watching over her while the boys are away. You have my word Ms Humphries.” Ophelia didn’t recognise the third voice immediately but quickly realised it was Cas.</p>
<p>She stood in the doorway of the kitchen waiting to be noticed.</p>
<p>“You know it’s rude to talk about someone while they’re about.” Ophelia said with a slight smile.</p>
<p>After the morning greetings and an awkward silence Ophelia spoke up.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry for what I said last night. I shouldn’t have been so blunt about it.”</p>
<p>“Don’t be sorry sweetheart. I should have realised you would want to spend more time with the boys. If that means going to America then I have to trust that’s the best place for you.” Sandra replied.</p>
<p>Ophelia reached out for her mother’s hand and squeezed it tightly.</p>
<p>After some time, Ophelia and her mother had come to an agreement. She could go to America with the boys on a trial period. If Ophelia didn’t like it or wanted to come home for any reason then that was okay. After six months they would talk again about the situation and see if Ophelia and the boys want to make the move a permanent thing.</p>
<p>“Once you come into this life Ophelia it’s really hard to leave. Are you sure this is what you want?” Sam asked. This was the first time Dean had seen Sam act like a big brother. Dean had always seen Sam as his baby brother despite being much taller than him. Seeing how he interacted with Ophelia made Dean smile.</p>
<p>“This is what I want Sam. I can always come home to mum if it gets too much. Anyway, I’m a Winchester, it’s in my blood.” Ophelia replied. She had a girlish grin on her face that highlighted just how young she was compared to her brothers.</p>
<p>“Like we said, you’re not going to be going out into the field straight away. Hopefully never…” Dean glanced at Sandra in reassurance before continuing “When we are away, Cas will keep an eye on you. Don’t worry about it.”</p>
<p>“Wait - how am I going to get to America with all my stuff?” Ophelia asked.</p>
<p>“Oh, Cas will take us back and then come back for you. We can take a few of your things if they don’t fit in your bags. We tend to travel light so no need to bring everything.” Dean said.</p>
<p>Ophelia looked at Cas and smiled, the angel looked older than her brothers but that made sense as he was an angel and has been around since the beginning of time, but he looked so human to her. His eyes were sunken and his skin wrinkled.</p>
<p>The angel noticed Ophelia staring at him and noticed she was confused about his vessel. “I asked my vessel if I could inhabit his body. He was a true believer in god. I do not get to pick how he ages Ophelia.” Cas said with a flat tone.</p>
<p>“Uhh… I’m sorry? How did you know..? I didn’t say anything…” Ophelia replied with a defensive tone.</p>
<p>“Don’t worry kiddo, he can read minds.” Dean said with reassurance.</p>
<p>“Oh that’s pretty neat.”  Ophelia acknowledged with a smile.</p>
<p>The makeshift family talked the rest of the morning about what sort of things Ophelia would be doing. Research and finding cases would be the main thing, they all thought that this would be enough work for her without impacting her university work.</p>
<p>Her car would have to stay with Sandra but as she technically wouldn’t be legal in America she wouldn’t be able to drive anyway.</p>
<p>“I feel kind of guilty at the thought of being illegal in America. Millions of people get sent back to war zones or unstable governments because they want a better life… But I’ll get away with it because I have Cas to just pop me into some secret bunker.”</p>
<p>“Well, Sam and I are technically dead if that makes you feel any better.” Dean said.</p>
<p>“No, it doesn’t really but thank you for trying Dean.”</p>
<p>“Look, we know it’s not ideal but you will be helping so many people.” Sam added.</p>
<p>Ophelia sat in silence for a while. She would be doing good work but it still felt wrong. It really didn’t sit right with her that she would be able to get away with this so easily.</p>
<p>She ran her fingers through her hair and rubbed the slight tension headache that was forming around her temples. Ophelia dropped her hands to her neck and stretched her neck, trying to relieve some tension.</p>
<p>The day passed slowly as Ophelia fell in and out of thoughts. She was going through some of the things in her room. Old clothes, notes from school and little items she had collected over her life in this room.</p>
<p>She was sat in front of her wardrobe on the floor as this was where all her things had been put when Brad still lived here.</p>
<p>Sam and Dean said they travelled light, so she shouldn’t take much with her. Obviously a good portion of her clothes could stay in England. Kansas was much warmer even in the winter so she wouldn’t need all her jumpers and coats. </p>
<p>What sort of room would she have? Was there any room for decoration? So many questions went through her head as she went through her things.</p>
<p>Dean stood at the entrance of Ophelia’s room. He watched as she spread items around her in a way that only made sense to her. He hadn’t announced himself when a floorboard creeked beneath him as he adjusted his weight. Ophelia turned round to check out the noise.</p>
<p>“Oh, hi kiddo. Just wanted to come and see how you were doing. What have you got there? Dean asked quickly once he had been noticed.</p>
<p>Ophelia sighed and said “Nothing really, just old memories and things. School photos and things like that.” She handed one of the photos to Dean who had planted himself next to her on the floor.</p>
<p>The photo was of a young Ophelia, probably not older than six years old. Her hair was wild and her green eyes looked too big for her small face. She wore a blue and white checkered dress that had a school logo on it. Dean smiled as he studied the photos. Although Ophelia had grown into her eyes, she still looked exactly the same as she did in the photo.</p>
<p>“I’m just thinking about what stuff I should leave here and what I should take with me.” She said.<br/>“Yeah, it can be hard to know what to take when you are always moving around. But, you won’t be. You’ll be at the bunker so you can bring whatever you want.”</p>
<p>“Oh, really?”</p>
<p>“Yeah kiddo, obviously you’ll have to be able to carry it otherwise we can’t get it there but bring what you like.” Dean replied.</p>
<p>Ophelia stood up with energy that didn’t quite match the mood of the conversation.</p>
<p>She pulled out a suitcase, which was much bigger than the one Dean had seen previously, and began filling it with different coloured shirts, skirts and shorts  and a few dresses. After the clothing followed the books, a mixture of textbooks and fiction and autobiographies.</p>
<p>Ophelia spent probably twenty minutes filling this extra suitcase while Dean sat quietly watching her.</p>
<p>Photos and other decoration was the last thing to go into the case before Ophelia sat on top of it to close it.</p>
<p>Finally Ophelia stood up and announced that she was all packed.</p>
<p>“That’s it? You don’t need anything else?” Dean asked.<br/>“Nope, everything else is either in my tote bag or my other case. Oh I do need to get the photo out of my car though. I can’t go without that.”</p>
<p>“Alright then, well I’ll take that downstairs as it must be a little heavy.”</p>
<p>Dean took the suitcase from Ophelia and headed out the door. The girl cleared up the items all over the floor before heading downstairs to her family.</p>
<p>Her bags were by the door. Her mum was trying her best to not cry and her brothers were talking with Cas.</p>
<p>“Are you sure this is what you want to do? It’s not too late to back out.” Sandra said.</p>
<p>“Mum, don’t worry about it. I’ll email you every day. Don’t text otherwise we both will be billed horrendously.” Ophelia replied with a giggle.</p>
<p>“Okay so this is how it’s going to work.” Dean interrupted. “Cas will take Sammy and I home first so we can be there for when you arrive and then he will come back for you Ophelia.”</p>
<p>Ophelia nodded. They had been over this a few times but Dean was probably saying it more for the benefit of Sandra.</p>
<p>“I put the photo of you and your grandad in your tote bag Ophelia.” Sam said with a smile “We will see you in a bit.”</p>
<p>Both boys moved over to where Cas was standing. They grabbed his hand, picked up their bags and with a flash of light they were gone.</p>
<p>It was probably five or so minutes later when Cas was back again in the hallway with another flash of light.</p>
<p>“Is there anything you need before we go, Ophelia? I do not want to have to come back if you have left something. It is very draining.” Castiel said.</p>
<p>“No, I’m all ready to go Cas. Just one moment.” She turned to her mum and gave her a deep hug. “I’ll be okay mum, I promise.” She whispered into her ear.</p>
<p>“I know. I love you.” Sandra whispered back.</p>
<p>“I love you too mum.”</p>
<p>The two women broke apart. Ophelia carried her bags from the door to where Cas stood and sighed. The angel took the larger bag in one hand and Ophelia’s hand in his other. Ophelia held tightly onto the angel as she had no idea what was going to happen next.</p>
<p>“Are you ready to go, Ophelia? Cas asked one last time.<br/>“Yes.” Was her reply.</p>
<p>Ophelia saw her mum cry a little as the room turned bright for what seemed to be forever.</p>
<p>When Ophelia’s feet finally felt like they were on solid ground again and the brightness died down she was greeted by the faces of her brothers in a very unfamiliar room.</p>
<p>“Welcome home Ophelia.” Cas said to the girl as she dropped her bags onto the hard wooden floors.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi everyone, this is my first venture back into writing for fun. I started this back in 2015, found it again last month and now the UK has gone back into lockdown I decided to rewrite it. You can also find this story on my tumblr which is called An Anonymous Writer</p><p>I hope you guys enjoy the first chapter of this found family supernatural AU.</p><p>TW - Mention of death</p></blockquote></div></div>
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